Good evening!

My transfer case is blown. I'm guessing the pinion gear is missing teeth (regular thunk when driving, propeller shaft hops when I hear the thunk). Since I don't have a lift, I'm going to have to pay to get it done... but it'll cost more than the car is worth!

For now, I'm thinking about removing the propeller shaft, but I know the pinion gears are still going to be hitting each other with their broken teeth, so I'm also thinking about removing the flange, pinion sleeve, and the pinion itself, then covering up the hole on the transfer case with a custom-made cover that bolts on just to keep it clean.

In the process, I know I should drain the transfer case fluid, but I also know that's a pain, so I'm thinking about just catching the fluid as I pull the sleeve off.

So here's my question:
With the pinion removed and the hole covered up, do I really need to keep fluid in the transfer case? If so (or the breather pulls a vacuum or something) I'm going to need to seal the cover so fluid doesn't leak. If not, I can be a little lazy with the cover and just have it on there to keep the inside of the xfer case clean until I can fix it.

Thanks in advance!

You should be able to yank the pinion sleeve without pulling the whole case, but you'll have to make up a sheet metal cover of some sort to keep the oil in. You'll positively still need oil, there are bearings in the ring carrier that have to stay wet.